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Jesse Katsopolis
Hermes "Jesse" Katsopolis (né Cochran & Konsopolis) is a fictional character on the sitcom Full House, portrayed by John Stamos. He is Danny Tanner's brother-in-law, and uncle of D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle. Character Family Jesse Katsopolis was born on April 15, 1963 to Nick and Irene Katsopolis. He was named after his great-grandfather, Hermes, but when the name caused him to be constantly teased in kindergarten, he begged his mother to change it. He subsequently adopted the name "Jesse," for Elvis Presley's late twin. During the first season, his full name was Jesse Cochran, but Stamos requested the last name be changed to Katsopolis to honor his own Greek heritage. Jesse had an older sister, Pam, who married Danny after high school. Jesse went on to attend Golden Bay High School, but dropped out. In a later episode, he realizes he is the only adult in the house without a high school diploma, which prompted him to go to night school graduating as a valedictorian. He gave his speech on a broken-down subway train to an angry mob during a black-out, which prevented him from reaching his graduation ceremony. His parents did not attend. On the first episode of the show, Jesse moves in with Danny to help him raise his kids after the death of his sister, Pam. However, he only expected to stay a couple of weeks but ended up staying, along with Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier), for the whole series, without paying rent. Jesse describes in later episodes how Pam was a great influence in his life, and how despite his rebel attitude, she managed to keep him in line. Jesse and Rebecca and their two kids live in the Tanner's attic. It is completely unfinished and Jesse has to use some elbow grease of his own to fix it up, after comical mishaps, thanks to Joey and Michelle. Music Jesse enjoys music and has performed in many episodes. In one episode, he mentioned he had two bands during high school: Feedback and Discipline Problems. For most of the show, he fronted a band called Jesse and the Rippers in which he sang lead vocals and played guitar. They would eventually get a record deal from their hit single "Forever" (which was a cover of a Beach Boys song, and even had the Beach Boys themselves as background vocals in the music video), and tour around the country in local clubs during the summer. In Season 8, he is kicked out after a fight with his fellow band members concerning his lack of commitment. Though he was no longer a member, his founder status continued to earn him royalties of literally hundreds of dollars through the end of the series. It is revealed in the Season 8 episode, Making Out is Hard To Do that Barry Williams assumed Jesse's role as lead singer. Therefore, it was renamed Barry and the Rippers. After Jesse's split from the Rippers, he subsequently formed another band called Hot Daddy and the Monkey Puppets. Jesse reprised his role as lead singer; but in this band, he switched his instrumentation from guitar to drums. Jobs Aside from his music career, Jesse is shown to have various jobs during the series. During the first season, he works as an exterminator for his father's business. During the second season, he enters the advertising business with Joey, becoming advertising executives. Their agency was called JJ Creative Services. In later seasons, Jesse and Joey start a career as radio hosts with a show called The Rush Hour Renegades (KFLH FM 95.6). Jesse would then inherit and re-open The Smash Club, which was a nightclub that he attended frequently while growing up, and where his band played regularly. In some episodes, he mentions that he saw The Doors, The Grateful Dead, The Mamas & the Papas, Sonny & Cher, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin perform there, despite the obvious inconsistency presented by the age of the character (who would have been a small child, during the periods of the acts cited). Relationships In the episode 13 Candles, it is revealed that his first kiss was with Diane Van Zant. During the show's first season, he is seen with several girlfriends. Some of them are: * Vanessa ("Our Very First Show") * Adrianna ("Daddy's Home") * Robin ("Half a Love Story") * Jill ("Half a Love Story") * Samantha ("The Seven-Month Itch, Part I") * Roxanne (Sea Cruise) During the second season, Jesse meets Danny's co-host, Rebecca Donaldson, and they started dating. They almost eloped in Nevada at the end of Season 2, but she felt she wasn't ready. During Season 4, they did get married and had twin boys in Season 5 (Nicky and Alex). During the 4th season when Jesse and Becky were engaged, Jesse saw his ex-girlfriend Carrie at their 10 year high school reunion. She wanted to dance with him but he freaked out and left. Then after Jesse talks to Danny and Joey for advice he tries to leave to go to talk to her but she arrived at their house and told him that she wants to get back together after graduating high school and she left for Paris. After talking they kissed. He told her that he is in love with Becky now and things should change from high school now that he is getting married. He then goes to Becky and tells her that he kissed Carrie and Becky got mad. Then Jesse told Becky that he is only hers now. In the episode ("Greek Week") Jesse sees his old girlfriend Elena and finds out that they were already "married" for almost 13 years, due to a "traditional Greek wedding", when they held flowers and walked around a table. They walk backwards around the table to get divorced. Then at the end of that episode he proposed to Becky for good. Personality and hobbies On early seasons, Jesse was portrayed as a rebel, motorcycle aficionado. However, as the show progressed, he matured and was seen to have finally set foot. He was always shown to be a caring uncle. In an episode he revealed that the reason he moved with Danny was because of how much he missed his sister Pam. Jesse's famous catch phrase throughout the series is "Have mercy!" as well as "Watch the hair!", because of his obsession with his hair. He is often seen measuring his hairline recession in the mirror with a tape measure from the top of his eyebrow to his hairline. Whenever he picks up the phone, he answers with the phrase "Talk to me!". He frequently makes references to Elvis Presley, his favorite musician. Jesse is also known for his famous recipe of fried chicken. He is very close with Michelle and is often much like her father. He is always playing with Michelle and has many nicknames for her, more notably Shorty and Munchkin. Michelle was actually the reason why Jesse returned after running away in Season 1 and when Jesse married, Michelle's sad face while he left haunted him until Becky saw it, too, and the two moved into the attic. He is seen "working out" with Michelle or playing with her. In most of the beginning of the episodes when Michelle was little, it would show Michelle and Jesse doing something, normally ending with the two hugging or Jesse running after Michelle or tickling her. When Michelle lost her memory, it was very hard on Jesse because she didn't remember him or how much fun they used to have. Michelle and Jesse do get into arguments, but they do always make up with Jesse saying "I'm sorry, shorty/munchkin/kid/Michelle" and they hug. In addition to "Have mercy!", Jesse's trademark sayings throughout the series include "per se" and, usually when talking to Michelle, "capice", which is Sicilian for "do you understand?" or simply "understand?". He occasionally calls Danny and Joey by their full first names, Daniel and Joseph. Early in the series, when Stephanie would try and get Jesse to do something he didn't want to do, they would have an exchange where Jesse would say "Uncle Jesse doesn't want to" (do something) and Stephanie says "Yes he does!". Jesse would then say "no he doesn't" and Stephanie would respond "yes he does!". Jesse would say one last time, rather emphatically, "No he doesn't", and Stephanie would respond in mock sadness, "Yes he does". John Stamos on his character Originally, Stamos signed to play Adam Cochran, but he changed the name to Jesse before the show began. He later requested his Greek heritage to be implemented in the show by changing his character's last name to Katsopolis. During the eighth season of the show, Stamos announced his departure, and the producers opted not to continue the series concerned by the loss of such a major character. Stamos planned a reunion of the actors in 2007 but they were not interested. Category:Full House characters Category:Fictional Greek-Americans Category:Fictional radio personalities Category:Fictional singers Category:Fictional rock musicians Category:Fictional characters from California Category:1987 introductions